Unlike last year’s World Series, the 2017 World Series isn’t such a heartbreaker, once in a lifetime event, with a team who hasn’t made a World Series in 100+ years. This year’s World Series includes the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Houston Astros. The Dodgers finished with a regular season record of 104 wins and 58 loses and a .642 winning percentage. The Astros finished with a regular season record of 101 wins and 61 loses and a .623 winning percentage.

At the end of the regular season, and going into the playoffs, the Dodgers and the Astros both were being looked at as teams that could go to the World Series. The Dodgers having the best record in the MLB, and the Astros having the third behind the Cleveland Indians; they both were contenders for the final game.

The Dodgers played the Arizona Diamondbacks, and won their series in three games 3-0. Then they matched up against the Chicago Cubs for five games, and won the series 4-1.

The Astros played the Boston Red Sox for four games, and won the series 3-1. They next played the New York Yankees for seven nail biting games, but came out with the series victory to play the Dodgers in the World Series.

In the first game of the World Series, the Dodgers took a 3-1 win riding behind pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who pitched a total of seven innings, had 11 strikeouts, three hits allowed, and only a single run allowed.

In game 2, the Astros came out with a 7-6 win and were able to hold on through the 11th inning, and set a record for most home runs hit in a World Series game (which was seven, but after game two it became eight).

Game 3 was a less dramatic game, with the Astros winning a crowd loving game, 5-3 over the Dodgers.

Game 4 was a better game for the Dodgers, with a 6-1 lead in the ninth inning that lead to a 6-2 win over the Astros.

Game 5 of the series was a hard battle for both teams. The game lasted almost 6 hours, and was the most watched telecast since Super Bowl LI in February. It went back and forth with the game tied in the 7th, to the Astros up in the 9th 9-12, to a tie game in the 9th at 12-12. But at last, the Astros came around to win with a final score of 13-12.

Game 6 had the Astros up 3-2 in the series and the Dodgers needed to win to force a game 7. The Dodgers were ready to bring everything they had to bring one last game home, and bring a World Series home to Los Angeles. Game 6 was a pitchers battle, and it all came down to the pitchers being able to throw strikes and make plays. In the 7th inning, the score was 3-1, and the Dodgers were looking clear for the win if they can hold on. The Dodgers ended up holding on and forcing a game 7 to decide it all.

In game 7, the Astros won the final game in an easy 6-1 win. The Astros are now your 2017 World Series champs, and all us MLB fans are looking forward to next year’s season.

On Tuesday, October 3rd, Brian Dozier and the Minnesota Twins faced sensational rookie Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees in the American League Wildcard Game. Aaron Judge, who is six foot seven, hit a rookie record 52 home runs this year, breaking Mark McGwire’s record of 49 home runs as a rookie in 1987. Along with Aaron Judge, the Yankees have a good pitching staff, boasting an ERA over the 2017 season of 3.72. They also had an astounding 1,560 strikeouts! But the most impressive of the pitching staff? Rookie pitcher Luis Severino. Throughout the season he was constantly in the Cy Young Race (Award for the league’s best pitcher; awarded in both the National League and American League) and had an impressive 2.98 ERA with 230 strikeouts. He will start on Tuesday.

With the Yankees seeming to be the favorite in the Wild Card matchup, don’t count out the Minnesota Twins. According to Baseball Reference, the Minnesota Twins ranked 9th in the American League in home runs, with 206, and 4th in the AL in batting average, with .260. The Twins offense, lead by second baseman Brian Dozier, who lead the team in home runs (34) and RBI (93), will look for a spark from him in the Wild Card game. The Twins will also be looking for production from Joe Mauer, who finished the season with an impressive batting average of .305.

The ace of the Twins, Ervin Santana, also had an impressive season. He finished the year with a 3.28 ERA, 16 wins, 211.1 innings pitched, 5 complete games, and 167 strikeouts. With Ervin Santana on the mound Tuesday, the Yankees have something to fear.

Both with impressive rosters, powerful offenses, and great pitching staffs, this is bound to be a great matchup. The American League Wild Card Game will be played at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, October 3rd, at 8 P.M. Go Twins!

Additional information can be found at: http://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=371003110